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Sad Animal Facts
Sad Animal Facts
A compendium of the Animal Kingdom's more unfortunate truths, with over 150 hand-drawn illustrations to make you laugh and cry. Have you ever wondered how expensive a jar of honey would be if a minimum wage for bees applied, or whether a dog cares what's on television when they sit next to you?This book pairs the sweet and sad facts of animal life with their imagined thoughts and reactions.
214 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2016
73 people are currently reading
1316 people want to read
About the author
Brooke Barker
18 books60 followersBrooke Barker is a writer, illustrator and animal enthusiast living in Portland, Oregon. She’s the creator of Sad Animal Facts and the co-creator of the It’s Different Every Day calendar, and a former copywriter at Wieden+Kennedy. She has a dog who can never eat chocolate and three guppies who can't take naps because they don't have eyelids.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 379 reviews
August 18, 2018
this is the time of year i float reviews of fun books that would make nice presents. not for me, i already have them. i’m just being a kindly readers’ advisory holiday angel.
this cover of this book looked so cute, i knew i needed to have it, and it was love at first page-flip. the drawings are adorable, and while i knew some of the facts already,
the way she presented them was absolutely charming.
and there were plenty of new facts! i learned:
-Strawberry poison dart frogs feed their unfertilized eggs to their hatched babies.
-Dik diks mark their territory with their tears.
-After Tasmanian devils mate, the female sneaks away in the night.
-Whales that sing in the wrong key get lost and are alone in the ocean.
but i soon found myself getting bewildered because i was like THESE FACTS AREN'T SAD! and some of the facts were only sad because of the caption bubble the artist supplied:
-Frogs can close their ears.
-Pit vipers have heat sensors on their mouths.
-Camels can drink 30 gallons of water in 15 minutes.
NOT SAD, BOOK! BE MORE SAD!
and then i started getting REALLY frustrated because there were all these suspiciously vague or untrue-sounding facts that were just dropped without context and i was like YOU ARE A REFERENCE LIBRARIAN! (which i knew because i read the introduction. because i'm one of those people) and i was shaking the book, yelling YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER THAN THIS, LIBRARIAN!! SHOW YOUR WORK! (because i'm one of those people who yells at books). i mean, don't YOU want some citations on these "facts?"
-Prairie dogs have different calls to communicate different human heights and human shirt colors, but can't differentiate between circles and squares.
-A chipmunk can't recognize its face in the mirror.
-Cows produce the most milk when they listen to R.E.M.'s "Everybody Hurts."
-Mice can sense sadness in other mice and it makes them sad, too.
-All gnu are born during a 3-week period.
-Apes tell lies. (this was the one that really made me scream)
-Lab rats enjoy mating more when they're wearing vests.
-If a chinchilla gets wet, it might never get dry.
-Monk seals can't dream underwater.
-Mosquitofish can only count to 100.
-Pigeons put off things they don't want to do.
-Kiwis can remember a bad memory for 5 years.
but thankfully - at the end of the book there is an index (alphabetized! thank you, librarian!) that provides more details about these facts, showing her research. and as strange as some of them sound, they are in fact true. (i am trusting her research skillz here, because librarian)
so, in case you were wondering about those damn lying apes:
and these explanations are fascinating, even for the ones i wasn't calling her a liar over. you will learn what a jerk nature is:
horrific and brutal and absolutely engrossing
and she manages to throw in some ha-has into the research, so it doesn't feel like school:
only one of her facts is still unconfirmed: Pigs have trouble seeing the sky because of how their eyes are placed.
these were the ones i found most interesting:
-Hippos attract mates by peeing.
-Boy puppies let girl puppies win when they playfight.
-Birds can't go to space because they need gravity to swallow.
-Male peacocks make fake mating sounds to attract females.
(Scientists at Duke University* believe these fake mating calls make females believe that a male is more popular than he actually is.)
-Male white front parrots vomit on females they want to mate with.
-Ants don't sleep but they take 8-minute naps twice a day.
-Houseflies can only hum in the key of F.
-A Portuguese man o' war is actually several organisms attached together.
some of these facts demonstrate an evolution fast asleep and made me think of this book
-Scorpions are nocturnal hunters but they glow in the dark.
and for all you hamster-lovers, here's a PSA - Guacamole is extremely poisonous to hamsters.
in the backmatter, we learn the following foods are also poison, so beware! apple seeds, eggplant, elderberries, mushrooms, peppers, garlic, onions, beans, raisins, potatoes, tomatoes, almonds, peanuts, all citrus fruits, chocolate, and high-fat meat.
in case you are a big softie and are worried this book will be too sad, i have taken it upon myself to could how many facts were actually sad, including a gray-area option:
sad - 18
not sad - 120
maybe sad - 16
so you should be okay, even if you are a sensitive soul.
saddest (sez me):
-Domesticated rabbits live 8 years as pets or 24 hours on their own.
and just for greg - here are the foxen facts, neither of which are sad:
so check this book out!!! she's also on the internet, naturally:
http://sadanimalfacts.com/
https://www.instagram.com/sadanimalfa...
*go, blue devils!
come to my blog!
this cover of this book looked so cute, i knew i needed to have it, and it was love at first page-flip. the drawings are adorable, and while i knew some of the facts already,
the way she presented them was absolutely charming.
and there were plenty of new facts! i learned:
-Strawberry poison dart frogs feed their unfertilized eggs to their hatched babies.
-Dik diks mark their territory with their tears.
-After Tasmanian devils mate, the female sneaks away in the night.
-Whales that sing in the wrong key get lost and are alone in the ocean.
but i soon found myself getting bewildered because i was like THESE FACTS AREN'T SAD! and some of the facts were only sad because of the caption bubble the artist supplied:
-Frogs can close their ears.
-Pit vipers have heat sensors on their mouths.
-Camels can drink 30 gallons of water in 15 minutes.
NOT SAD, BOOK! BE MORE SAD!
and then i started getting REALLY frustrated because there were all these suspiciously vague or untrue-sounding facts that were just dropped without context and i was like YOU ARE A REFERENCE LIBRARIAN! (which i knew because i read the introduction. because i'm one of those people) and i was shaking the book, yelling YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER THAN THIS, LIBRARIAN!! SHOW YOUR WORK! (because i'm one of those people who yells at books). i mean, don't YOU want some citations on these "facts?"
-Prairie dogs have different calls to communicate different human heights and human shirt colors, but can't differentiate between circles and squares.
-A chipmunk can't recognize its face in the mirror.
-Cows produce the most milk when they listen to R.E.M.'s "Everybody Hurts."
-Mice can sense sadness in other mice and it makes them sad, too.
-All gnu are born during a 3-week period.
-Apes tell lies. (this was the one that really made me scream)
-Lab rats enjoy mating more when they're wearing vests.
-If a chinchilla gets wet, it might never get dry.
-Monk seals can't dream underwater.
-Mosquitofish can only count to 100.
-Pigeons put off things they don't want to do.
-Kiwis can remember a bad memory for 5 years.
but thankfully - at the end of the book there is an index (alphabetized! thank you, librarian!) that provides more details about these facts, showing her research. and as strange as some of them sound, they are in fact true. (i am trusting her research skillz here, because librarian)
so, in case you were wondering about those damn lying apes:
and these explanations are fascinating, even for the ones i wasn't calling her a liar over. you will learn what a jerk nature is:
horrific and brutal and absolutely engrossing
and she manages to throw in some ha-has into the research, so it doesn't feel like school:
only one of her facts is still unconfirmed: Pigs have trouble seeing the sky because of how their eyes are placed.
these were the ones i found most interesting:
-Hippos attract mates by peeing.
-Boy puppies let girl puppies win when they playfight.
-Birds can't go to space because they need gravity to swallow.
-Male peacocks make fake mating sounds to attract females.
(Scientists at Duke University* believe these fake mating calls make females believe that a male is more popular than he actually is.)
-Male white front parrots vomit on females they want to mate with.
-Ants don't sleep but they take 8-minute naps twice a day.
-Houseflies can only hum in the key of F.
-A Portuguese man o' war is actually several organisms attached together.
some of these facts demonstrate an evolution fast asleep and made me think of this book
-Scorpions are nocturnal hunters but they glow in the dark.
and for all you hamster-lovers, here's a PSA - Guacamole is extremely poisonous to hamsters.
in the backmatter, we learn the following foods are also poison, so beware! apple seeds, eggplant, elderberries, mushrooms, peppers, garlic, onions, beans, raisins, potatoes, tomatoes, almonds, peanuts, all citrus fruits, chocolate, and high-fat meat.
in case you are a big softie and are worried this book will be too sad, i have taken it upon myself to could how many facts were actually sad, including a gray-area option:
sad - 18
not sad - 120
maybe sad - 16
so you should be okay, even if you are a sensitive soul.
saddest (sez me):
-Domesticated rabbits live 8 years as pets or 24 hours on their own.
and just for greg - here are the foxen facts, neither of which are sad:
so check this book out!!! she's also on the internet, naturally:
http://sadanimalfacts.com/
https://www.instagram.com/sadanimalfa...
*go, blue devils!
come to my blog!
March 30, 2025
Fantastic facts that will have you laughing while still feeling sad for our animal friends! This is the kind of book that will help you identify what you would like to look into more; found several animals in this book that I found very interesting and wanted to learn more about. Fun and very informative book!
June 13, 2017
Super-delightful illustrations that lessen the impact of the sad facts. Just a wonderful little book.
October 25, 2016
I was sent this from Pan Macmillan for review, and I'm so happy to have revived it as it's such a cute little book!
What I liked in particular about this book was that after you have looked at all the cute pictures and read the interesting (and somewhat depressing) facts, there is a full explanation provided for each of the facts at the end of the book which gives you a lot more background information. And some of the explanations are heartbreaking!
Well worth a read if you like animals and having fun facts to share at parties.
What I liked in particular about this book was that after you have looked at all the cute pictures and read the interesting (and somewhat depressing) facts, there is a full explanation provided for each of the facts at the end of the book which gives you a lot more background information. And some of the explanations are heartbreaking!
Well worth a read if you like animals and having fun facts to share at parties.
December 23, 2017
This was such a cute book!
The whole thing was a mix of #same:
And #godiwishthatwereme:
I highly recommend it!
The whole thing was a mix of #same:
And #godiwishthatwereme:
I highly recommend it!
October 21, 2016
Weird and fun animal facts, with cute pictures. I really liked the appendix, that expands on those weird little facts.
December 22, 2023
This is a Children's Fact Book that is cute and funny. I found this book just to do a very fun read.
January 18, 2022
Цікавий перелік фактів із світу тварин з ілюстраціями, іноді з дотепними. Добре проведення часу на один вечір - мінімум тексту, максимум жартів.
March 31, 2020
Hace un mes, en mi país se desató un estallido social muy grande por demandas tan básicas como educación, salud, afp y sueldo mínimo. El presidente se convirtió en un dictador que junto a su gobierno infame ha violado nuestros derechos humanos. Hemos vivido una represión desmedida a manos de militares y fuerzas especiales (carabineros), lo que ha dejado más de 200 personas sin un ojo, ha habido torturas, muertes, desapariciones, violaciones, acosos sexuales, detenciones de niñas y niños, personas en silla de ruedas que han sido botadas al suelo y arrastradas, miles de personas intoxicadas con lacrimógenas y gases, miles de heridxs por balines. Han disparado a animales, hospitales, han disparado y lanzado gases a personal de salud que reanimaba a un joven (lamentablemente murió), han disparado incluso a hijos y personal de su misma institución. Ni siquiera lxs voluntarixs de derechos humanos que observa y vela por la ciudadanía se ha salvado de los disparos. Son unos sociópatas que no tienen respeto por nada ni nadie. Los políticos partidistas se reunieron sin el pueblo para hacer un acuerdo por la paz y la justicia, sin embargo no estamos de acuerdo con sus palabras y letra chica. Ya nos han engañado tantas veces que no confiamos en nadie. El dolor, la rabia, el miedo y la resistencia, me han impedido leer. Desde que todo empezó, ni siquiera he podido escribir mucho. Siento que si no leo sobre lo que pasa, soy una superficial, pero cuando leo sobre eso, más me abrumo. Con el pasar de los días igual me dediqué a terminar algunos libros ligeros, pero que sin embargo no llegué a disfrutar mucho. Uno de ellos es éste. Me sorprendí un montón con todos los datos y las ilustraciones están hermosas. Me hizo sonreír varias y veces y eso se agradece un montón en estos momentos.
March 13, 2021
This book was such a delight!
Not only was it informative, adorable and interesting but it was so relatable too! The only negative I can think of regarding this book is that it left me with a very serious identity crisis; I have always believed my spirit animal to be a whale but now I'm just so confused!
This is me
Literally me
Story of my life
RELATABLLLLEEEEEEEE
Yes
Definitely me
Do read it. It's super fun.
Not only was it informative, adorable and interesting but it was so relatable too! The only negative I can think of regarding this book is that it left me with a very serious identity crisis; I have always believed my spirit animal to be a whale but now I'm just so confused!
This is me
Literally me
Story of my life
RELATABLLLLEEEEEEEE
Yes
Definitely me
Do read it. It's super fun.
November 22, 2016
Am I allowed to say that a book of sad facts is hilarious? Because, while reading this, I was constantly laughing out loud and sharing with anyone that would listen (and anyone that really didn't want to listen but did anyway). I will definitely be buying a copy.
December 30, 2020
O carte pentru mic și mare care conține curiozități despre animale, insecte, pești etc., cu glumițe, nu neapărat amuzante, dar însoțite de imagini drăguțe. În postfață, autoarea oferă pe larg detalii despre anumite curiozități. Ciudățică, dar drăguțică.
December 31, 2020
10/10 beste toiletliteratuur die mijn lief in 2020 verzameld heeft
October 12, 2022
zebras can't sleep alone.
mice can sense sadness in other mice and it makes them sad too.
crocodiles lived with dinosaurs.
sea turtles never meet their moms.
dik-diks mark their territory with their tears.
dogs cant see television but they pretend to like it so they can be close to you.
whales that sing in the wrong key get lost and are alone in the ocean.
monk seals cant dream underwater.
crows never forget a face.
anything a duckling meets within 10 minutes of being born becomes its parent.
pigeons put off things they dont want to do.
kiwis can remember a bad memory for 5 years.
worms have five hearts.
leeches have 32 brains, but all you care about is looks >:(
jellyfish have no hearts.
mice can sense sadness in other mice and it makes them sad too.
crocodiles lived with dinosaurs.
sea turtles never meet their moms.
dik-diks mark their territory with their tears.
dogs cant see television but they pretend to like it so they can be close to you.
whales that sing in the wrong key get lost and are alone in the ocean.
monk seals cant dream underwater.
crows never forget a face.
anything a duckling meets within 10 minutes of being born becomes its parent.
pigeons put off things they dont want to do.
kiwis can remember a bad memory for 5 years.
worms have five hearts.
leeches have 32 brains, but all you care about is looks >:(
jellyfish have no hearts.
September 3, 2016
I received a copy of this title from PanMacmillan Australia for review.
Ten Second Synopsis:
A collection of animals and the more woeful aspects of their various existences.
If you can't bring yourself to have a giggle at the woes of animals large and small, allow me to note what a sad little animal you are. This is a not-to-be-missed opportunity to revel in an atmosphere of schadenfreude directed squarely at our animal friends. Most times, when a blurb promises that I will laugh out loud or that the contents of said book is hysterically funny, I become immediately wary that the actual level of humorous content is sadly lacking. Sad Animal Facts did, however, have me laughing aloud within the first three pages, and by the end I'm pretty sure a little laughter-tear had leaked out.
I'm pretty sure that no matter how much you love animals and deplore your suffering, it will be hard not to have a little mean-spirited giggle at the predicaments of some of the animals contained within. There's the poor old long-tailed skink who embodies the shame of every hungry and impulsive human that ever lived, the gorilla who is as disgusted by your poor hygiene practices as the rest of us are (wash your damn hands, dammit!), and the downcast gnu who know exactly how multiple-birth kids feel about sharing birthdays. The illustrations are sparse, simple and perfectly capture the various glumnesses of a menagerie of cute and crestfallen animals.
If this chunky little tome isn't made into a desk-sized, tear-off calendar in time for this year's office Kris Kringle season, then someone has dropped a huge marketing ball. Sad Animal Facts is exactly that kind of read - one to flick through at leisure and enjoy piecemeal, savouring a few animal adversities at a time. I would love to see a few copies of this one dropped into the waiting rooms of hospitals and, perhaps, funeral homes, to see how long it takes for someone to laugh inappropriately loudly in such a space while flicking through this book. I would definitely recommend this one to lovers of humour and illustration, and as the perfect gift for that acquaintance who likes to complain a lot about their situation in life.
Ten Second Synopsis:
A collection of animals and the more woeful aspects of their various existences.
If you can't bring yourself to have a giggle at the woes of animals large and small, allow me to note what a sad little animal you are. This is a not-to-be-missed opportunity to revel in an atmosphere of schadenfreude directed squarely at our animal friends. Most times, when a blurb promises that I will laugh out loud or that the contents of said book is hysterically funny, I become immediately wary that the actual level of humorous content is sadly lacking. Sad Animal Facts did, however, have me laughing aloud within the first three pages, and by the end I'm pretty sure a little laughter-tear had leaked out.
I'm pretty sure that no matter how much you love animals and deplore your suffering, it will be hard not to have a little mean-spirited giggle at the predicaments of some of the animals contained within. There's the poor old long-tailed skink who embodies the shame of every hungry and impulsive human that ever lived, the gorilla who is as disgusted by your poor hygiene practices as the rest of us are (wash your damn hands, dammit!), and the downcast gnu who know exactly how multiple-birth kids feel about sharing birthdays. The illustrations are sparse, simple and perfectly capture the various glumnesses of a menagerie of cute and crestfallen animals.
If this chunky little tome isn't made into a desk-sized, tear-off calendar in time for this year's office Kris Kringle season, then someone has dropped a huge marketing ball. Sad Animal Facts is exactly that kind of read - one to flick through at leisure and enjoy piecemeal, savouring a few animal adversities at a time. I would love to see a few copies of this one dropped into the waiting rooms of hospitals and, perhaps, funeral homes, to see how long it takes for someone to laugh inappropriately loudly in such a space while flicking through this book. I would definitely recommend this one to lovers of humour and illustration, and as the perfect gift for that acquaintance who likes to complain a lot about their situation in life.
April 21, 2019
Шукайте в книзі цей та інші сумно-смішні факти з такими ж картіночками: «Если бы пчелы получали минимальную зарплату, банка меда стоила бы 182 тысячи долларов. За час одна пчела может перенести в своем желудочке 0,04 грамма нектара, кото��ый превращается в 0.02 грамма меда. Чтобы заполнить полулитровую банку медом, потребуется 250 тысяч часов пчелиного труда (представьте себе баночку в виде медведя). 250 тысяч часов за минимальную ставку в 7,25 долларов - это 181 250 долларов, и я округлила эту сумму до 182 000, включив в нее несколько оплачиваемых больничных, годовую премию и налоги. Только вообразите, насколько мед - выгодное вложение.»
January 11, 2017
This is a great coffee table book. My son & I thoroughly enjoyed discovering all the interesting, funny, (and yes, often sad) animal facts. Bonus points for reading it aloud with a sorrowful & mopey Eeyore-type voice. This is listed as "general/adult non-fiction" but really can be appreciated by lovers of sad facts in a wide range of ages. Clever entries. Cute illustrations. Informative appendix. Recommended for ages 8 & up. Would make a great gift for animal lovers with a sense of humor.
Book trailer:
https://youtu.be/JLzdjO_vWM0
Book trailer:
https://youtu.be/JLzdjO_vWM0
August 9, 2019
3 stars
Quick short book that gives unknown animal facts, like Zebra's can't sleep alone or Turtles breath out their butts, with a cute little picture accompanying each fact. Then at the back of the book is a little more advanced description of each animal fact. Quirky and unusual, but entertaining.
Quick short book that gives unknown animal facts, like Zebra's can't sleep alone or Turtles breath out their butts, with a cute little picture accompanying each fact. Then at the back of the book is a little more advanced description of each animal fact. Quirky and unusual, but entertaining.
December 27, 2017
Well this was interesting! And funny... in a sad kind of way... sometimes. There's some families in here that need a capital T, as in Toxic -_-
Unless you're a Panda; Pandas like to sleep and they're not picky about where they do it. Unlike zebras who need company to do it...
September 22, 2016
I giggled and snorted way too much reading this.
October 6, 2016
I liked this book so much I live snapchatted it as I read.
March 20, 2017
Cute and entertaining. I didn't like having to flip to the back each time to look up the details, but it was an interesting read.
April 23, 2020
O carte care se nimerește a fi pe gustul oricărui tip de cititor.
Un bădăran poate să nu găsească măcar ceva drăguț în aceasta.
O cărticică simplă de tot, mai mult ilustrativă decât pentru lectură, dar care mi-a ***** o palmă și m-a trezit la realitatea exactă.
- Ia! Mă duc, pentru că mă cântă niște păsărele...
Un bădăran poate să nu găsească măcar ceva drăguț în aceasta.
O cărticică simplă de tot, mai mult ilustrativă decât pentru lectură, dar care mi-a ***** o palmă și m-a trezit la realitatea exactă.
- Ia! Mă duc, pentru că mă cântă niște păsărele...
November 21, 2017
This is a hilarious combination of bizarre facts and charming illustrations. The endnotes go into detail (did you know male ring-tailed lemurs get into stink fights that last up to an hour??)
Recommended for animal lovers, people with a dark sense of humor, and trivia buffs.
Recommended for animal lovers, people with a dark sense of humor, and trivia buffs.
June 2, 2018
Un libro ilustrado muy entretenido con datos rarísimos sobre animales. Ideal para disfrutar en familia. Con humor y talento Brooke Barker nos cuenta sobre los datos más lamentables y tristes sobre nuestros amigos animales.
December 26, 2022
Aunque los datos son buenos, no son sorprendentes.
Aunque el libro es ligero, no lo recomiendo.
Supongo que fue creado para niños pero entonces los dibujos y las ilustraciones deberían ser más atractivos y en general, les quedo muy simplón.
Tienes poquito tiempo y dinero que te sobre, lee esto, si no, evítalo.
February 18, 2022
So cute! And don't worry about all the facts being sad--some of them are cute or funny too! I especially liked how the author included more detailed explanations of the facts at the end of the book. I think my favorite fact was about the pandas. Always the pandas.
March 4, 2022
Fun little bathroom book with weird animal facts combined with hilarious straight-faced line drawings and quips. Like “Koi fish can live 200 years” with a drawing of a Koi fish saying “72,500 more days of exploring this decorative pond.”
April 17, 2017
adorable and informative book!
December 10, 2016
Cute and funny. Somewhere between 3 & 4 stars. Not a ton of meat to it, but I borrowed it from our library's Young Adult collection & I think that's a great place for it. I learned a bunch of new animal facts, and laughed at some of the illustrations accompanying facts with which I was already familiar. I identified several spirit animals (the sheep, who can't remember more than 50 faces, for instance -- and the emu, who's sadly unable to moonwalk - something I've mourned not being able to do myself [they can't walk backwards. That part I've at least got down]). I'm not sure how factually-accurate the book is. One of the facts is about how pigs can't see the sky due to eye-placement, but then in the notes section at the back, the author comments, "May not be true. Must ask farmer"). Regardless, I was entertained and since it's mostly little cartoons, it's a SUPER fast read. Make sure you read it around somebody who will patiently listen to you while you guffaw and insist upon reading factoids aloud. ;)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 379 reviews